Ice-making system and method of obtaining dry air



Dec. 2, 1930. J. 'A. MARTOCELLO I 1,783,307

ICE MAKING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OBTAINING DRY AIR F iled Nov. 14, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec..2 1930. J. A. MARTOCELLO 1,733,807

ICE MAKING SYSTEM ANflM-ETHOD OF OBTAINING DRY AIR iled N'ov 14, 2 s'sneetsne 2 De. 2, 1930 J. A..MARTOCELLO ICE MAKING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OBTAINING DRYAIR F'i1ed Now 14, 1923 3 sheets-Sheet s Patented Dec. 2, 1930 JOSEPH A. MARrocELLo, or PHILADELPHIA, rENNsYLvaNIA ICE-MAKING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OBTAINING DRY AIR Application filed November 14, 1923. Serial No. -674,748.

My invention relates to airsystems for ice plants and specifically to an arrangement for obtaining an air supply initially-cool and low in moisture content and to means for supporting and automatically centering the air inlet tubes within the ice cans.

One purpose of my invention is to use the same air over and over. and to draw the air supply from beneath the cover of the freezing floor to obtain a supply already cold and low in moisture content, reducing further dehydration required and bringing this 'further dehydration within the range of a brinespray dehydrator without undue dilution of the brine. a

Another purpose is to make the air-inlet drop tubes automatically hang vertically, ir-

respective of variation in the angular placement of the supporting bracket, and pref-' erably at the same time to provide a strong but loose joint connection between the tube and its bracket so that in operation they may be handlcdas a unit. 7 r

, A further purpose is to loosely lock the tube to its bracket by means of shoulders above and below the bracket, and to provide ball suspension between i the top of the bracket and the bottom of the upper shoulder.

A further purpose is toprovide a bracket that will receive and mate with and be properly. positioned by the stiffening bead down the center line of commercial cans.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and in the claims. I

My invention relates to the processes involved as Well as to the mechanism shownfor carrying out the process.

Figure 1 isa perspective View showing the parts of a raw water. ice system in position. Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged detail from Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section through an ice can equipped with a portion -of my invention.

Figure 4 is a broken sectional detail of Figure 3 to enlarged scale,

Figure 5 is a section of Figure 4 taken along the line 55. r

directly to a brine spray condenser without Figure 6 is-aside elevation of a detail.

Figure 7.is a broken sectional detail from Figure 4,

Figure 7a is a section corresponding to Figure 7 of a modified form. Figure 8 is a vbroken bottom plan illustrating the end of the bracket adjacent the can.

' Figures 9, 10 and 11 show fied forms of a detail.

In the drawings similar numerals indicate like parts.

Describing in illustration and not in limitation and referring to the drawings y In the manufacture of raw water ice the 65 use of brine spray dehydrators is common but either special provision has had to be made for in section modireducing the moisture content of the air before it reaches the'dehydrator such as very high compression and water cooling, or the relatively high moisture content of the air has resulted in undue dilution of the brine, which brine had subsequently to be concentrated. I

have aimed to avoid both of these evils by using the air over' and over again, withdrawing 1t rom the freezing tank at the low temperature and corresponding low moisture content of the air in' the tank. This air can be passed undue dilution of the brine. 7

Since the intake air for the previous systems has varied greatly'in humidity, due in part to changes in temperature, winter and summer, the initial IIlOlStllIfG content has correspondingly varied, even day by day. By

my method and apparatus I avoid these variations in moisture content and in tempera ture of the intake air and am able to prede-. termine much more accurately the performance of my 'air supply and to maintain it 'under much more nearly uniform operating conditions ,at alltimes'than would otherwise be the case. r

By merely properly locating the intake of my air supply I am enabled to obtain the same net result with respect to cooling and moisture as has hitherto been accomplished by acompressor and water-cooling of the high pressure air pipes.v

. A layout embodying-my invention is shown cording thermometer 21 to record brine temperature, and mercury gauge 22 for testing air pressures.

The raw water used may initially not be filtered. During freezing the impurities concentrate in a core of water at the center of the can and this water core being high in impurities is in best practice pumped out by the suction pump and thrown away, the

water pumped out being replaced by fresh water or water that has been filtered. The core suction unit comprises pump 23, operated by motor 24, suction pipe 25, suction hose 2-6 and discharge pipe 27.

Fresh raw water from the pipe 28 when used to refill cores passes through the'filters 29 and piping 30 and 31 to an intercooler 32, and thence through piping 33 to the supply line 34 having suitable branch connections 35 provided with feed hose 36.

The air system comprises an air inlet pipe 37 terminating in inlet branches 38 extending into the freezing tank between the brine surface and the freezing floor. A motordriven pump 39 is thus supplied with intake air from the tank and discharges through pipe 40 to a brine spray dehydrator 41 of any suitable type. One type of this is shown in my application for patent for system of dehydration filed herewith, Serial No. 674,749, and is illustrated, though not with the same completeness, in the present application. The brine for the spray is driven by pump 42 and enters at 43. The air enters at 44 and may be by-passed at 45 through valve 46. Wherever shown 46 represents a hand valve.

The air comes out at 47 through a seperator 48, if desired, passing to the header 49 and thence to the laterals 50.

The laterals are fed from the header and supply air to cans 17 through taps 51, flexible connections 52, nozzle terminals 53 and air tubes 54 separate from the cans and suspended in them.

I have found it advantageous to have each tube a unit with its bracket, as this reduces the number of parts to be handled when manufacturing ice. It is also desirable for the tube to hang vertically and substantially at the center of the can which is the region last to freeze. In my invention I make the tube and its bracket a unit with a strong but loose connection between the tube and bracket, adapting the unit to rough handling and the tube to always hang vertically, irrespective of slight misplacement of the bracket. I also make the unit very easy to properly place centrally upon the side of the can by having ture. The stiffening head 57 down the mid dle of each side of the can is made use of to quickly position the unit, the bracket 58 being grooved at 59 to receive and pass the bead. To properly position the bracket all that is required of an operator is to place the groove over the bead.

The bracket is provided with a passage which may be in the form of a bore 60 over the center of the can to loosely pass the tube 54. The ferrule thimble 61 screwed to the upper end of the tube, forms a support for the tube and is provided with a ball end bearing portion 62. The bore 60 secures the best results in the form of an upward conical flare 63 to receive the ball, as in Figures 4, 7, 9, 10 and 11 or terminating in a sharp upper edge 63' to engage the ball as in Figure To. An edge about a triangular or other polygonal opening would serve the purpose.

The ball end rests in this inverted conical portion of the bore, or upon the edge 63 being centered by gravity in either event. The support in the bracket and the ball end of the ferrule together form a ball and socket suspension of the tube adapting it to hang vertically in the can.

So as not to require too large an opening I also preferably ehamfer the lower end of the bore at 64 in both forms, thereby increasing the freedom of lateral motion of the tube with respect to its bracket. The thimble is'provided with a thawing needle guide or cap 65 and with a drain 66.

A stop collar 67, mounted upon the tube somewhat below the bracket loosely locks the tube and bracket together while the screw connection between the ferrule thimble and the tube makes it easy to separate the bracket and tube if special conditions should ever make this desirable.

In Figures 9, 10 and 11 I have shown a few among the various other forms of thimble and collar and tube connection by which loose connection is made between the tube and bracket while giving proper self-centering support for the tube. In each of these forms it will be seen that the thimble, tube and collar form a unit securing the desired support from the bracket.

In all three figures the thimbles, 61, 61 and 61 form supportsfor the collar 67', 67 and 67 respectively. In Figure the tube is supported directly from the thimble while in Figures 10 and 11 the tube is threaded into the thimble-support collar.

The air tube is shown provided with the usual small air holes 68, spaced above the bottom of the tube. These holes admit air into the water even after the bottom of the tube has frozen shut.

It will be obvious that the conditions of use do not require that the passage in or through the bracket have continuous walls,

' though I prefer to have the passage in the form of an aperture with continuous walls thereabout, and have so illustrated it.

In View of my invention and disclosure, variations and modifications to meet undividual-whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art and I claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention,- what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

. 1. In an ice plant, a bracket having a passage fla'red at its upper end, a ferrule seated in said flare, an air tube'supported by the ferrule,capable of oscillatory movement to swing the ferrule inthe flare and a lock collar below the bracket and preventingremoval of the tube through the bracket.

2. In an ice plant, a bracket having a passage flared at its upper end, a ferrule seated in .said flare, an air tube supported by the ferrule, capable of oscillatory movement to swing the ferrule in the flare anda lock collar below the bracket and preventing removal of the tube through the bracket, one of the parts, the ferrule or collar being removable. k

3. In ice making apparatus, a bracket adapted to engage the rim of an ice can and having a passage therein, in combination with an air tube Ipassing downwardly through the passage, and a support for the air tube about the upper end of the tube forming a universal joint with the wall of the passage. 7 I

4. In an ice plant, a unit comprising a bracket adapted to hook loosely over the rimof an ice can and having an opening, a drop air tube passing through the opening, a support for the tube resting upon the surface about the opening, and a stop, rigid with respect to the tube, permanently secured beneath the openingand preventing upward removal of the tube from the bracket.

5. In an'ice plant, an ice can having a longitudinai stiffening bead; a unit comprising a bracket recessed to fit the bead and centering the tube and adapted to hook over 1 the rim of the can and a drop air tube dependmg from the bracket over the center of the can, adapting the tube to hang vertically when supported by the bracket.

6. In an ice plant,-a bracket having a passage, an air'drop tube having its upper end loosely passingthrough the" passage and asupport for thetube-mounted upon the upper end of the tube above the bracket and having ball-end loose bearing with the bracket permitting swingingmovement of the tube.

7 In .an ice plant, a-bracket having a passage conically chamferred on its upper side,

r the tube above the passage and having a ballend loose bearing with the chain fer of the bore permitting swinging movement of thet-ube.

8. In an ice plant, a bracket having a passage, an air drop tube having its upper end loosely passing through the passage, a support for the tube mounted upon the upper end ofthe tube above the passage, forming a. unit with the tube and resting loosely upon the bracket about the passage to permit swinging movement of the tube, and a collar larger than the passage mounted upon the unit below the smallest section of the bore of the passage. V 9. In an ice plant, a bracket having a passage, an air drop tube having its upper end loosely passing through the passage, a support for the tube mounted upon the upper end of the tube above the passage, resting loosely upon the bracket about the passage and having ball end bearing with the bracket topermit swinging movement of the tube,

and a collar larger than the passage mounted upon the tube below and near to the bore of the passage.

10. In a device of the character stated, a brine receiving tank, a freezing can, a member arranged upon the .can top andprovided with a'socket, a ball-like member having an aperture therethrough seated in said socket,

aperture, and means adjacent the tube top for securing said tube to said member.

12. In a device of the character stated. a

member adapted for support upon a freezing can, said member being provided with a socket, and an air tube having its upper end secured to a ball-end bearing positioned within said socket, said ball-end bearing having an openingtherethrough.

13. In an ice plant, the combination of an ice can, a bracket adapted to be supported thereon and having a passage therethrough an air drop tube adapted to be positioned in said ice can and having its upper end loosely passing through the passage and a support for the tube mounted upon the upper end of the tube above the bracket and having ballend bearing with'the bracket. V

14. In an ice plant, the combination of an ice can, a bracket adapted to be supported thereon and having a passage therethrough and the walls of the latter shaped to form a semi-spherical seat for a ball a ball positioned on said seat, and a perforated air tube secured to said ball, and depending therefrom Within said can, said ball and air tube being adapted to be lifted vertically upwardly from said seat.

JOSEPH A. MARTOGELLOQ 

